Conjuring up a magical treat.

Byline: By Linda Richards

Famous magicians who have kept royalty and celebrities the world over spellbound are coming to Tyneside.

Top names from the Magic Circle in America, Europe and the UK are heading for South Tyneside for International Magic Week, the first of its kind in the region.

During next week's event, local magicians will perform in schools, libraries and elderly people's homes. There will also be a convention for 150 delegates who will take part in lectures and workshops to learn more about the hidden secrets in the world of magic.

The highlight will be two gala shows with a host of stars, including human cartoon character Sylvester the Jester, who has created some of the wildest magic effects ever seen, and Stephen `Banachek' Shaw, once a teenage psychic who has since performed stunts such as being buried alive and catching bullets in his teeth.

Organising the week, which runs from March 15 to 21, has been a feat of magic for Martin Duffy, president of Newcastle Magic Circle, who was invited by South Tyneside Council to conjure up his own wish list of acts.

Martin said: "I got a call asking if I would help organise a magic convention. One of the acts, Sylvester the Jester, has never been seen in the UK before. He's flying from the US, where he performs in Las Vegas and Hollywood's Magic Castle."

Martin, 42, from Seaton Deleval, regularly performs magic at trade shows, car launches and private functions and has appeared before a host of stars.

"Magic is cool again," he said. "Gone are the top hats and bunnies. The magic that is popular is street magic like David Blaine's, or the Mind Magic of Derren Brown."

The Harry Potter phenomenon has also transformed the way Martin now performs at children's parties.

"Children don't use the word abracadabra any more, they say wingardium leviosa," he said. "When I first heard them using words from the Harry Potter books, I looked blank. Then I read them and now they're part of my act."